Pile driving head construction



Sept. .8, 1942.

E. W. RIEMENSCHNEIDER.

PILE DRIVING HEAD CONSTRUCTION A Filed March 21, 1940 v wmm PatentedSept. 8, 1942 PILE DRIVING HEAD CONSTRUCTION Edmund W. Riemenschneider,Canton, Ohio, as-

signor to The Union Metal Manufacturing Company, Canton, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Application March 21, 1940, Serial No. 325,159

2 Claims.

The invention relates to pile driving heads, and more particularly toimproved pile driving heads for cushioning the blows of the pile drivinghammer and uniformly distributing the force thereof to the entire topsurface of a pile.

In pile driving it is practically impossible to maintain exact axialalignment between the pile driving hammer and the pile and the drivinghead. Consequently, means must be provided for cushioning and uniformlydistributing the hammer blows to the top of the pile, and this isparticularly true where the pile being driven is of thin wallconstruction. Otherwise repeated misaligned blows will crush 01' buckleone side of the top of the pile, making it extremely difiicult if notimpossible to drive the pile in the required direction.

Prior pile driving head constructions have included anvil blocks havingrounded upward surfaces, and while these have improved drivingconditions to some extent, they leave much to be desired in theaccomplishment of uniform distribution of shock to the top of the pile,and of course do not cushion the blows.

In other prior constructions, cushioning members have been provided, themost common of which are wood blocks. Wood blocks are obviously shortlived in use as a cushion, and they do not in themselves distribute thehammer blows to any substantial extent.

I have discovered that all of the foregoing difficulties are overcome byincorporating in a single driving head an anvil block with a roundedupper surface cooperating with a cushioning member and with centeringmeans so as to uniformly distribute and cushion the blows of the hammerand maintain the head and pile in substantial axial alignment.

The present improved driving head has been used with a conventional piledriving hammer in actual practice for successfully driving tubularpiles, whereas other attempts to drive the same piles to develop arequired load bearing capacity in the same ground with the same hammer,but with a conventional driving head, have caused failure of the pile atits top end.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide an improvedpile driving head construction which enables the successful driving oftubular piles including piles having thin walls, in the requireddirection with various kinds of conventional pile driving hammers.

Another and more specific object is to provide an improved pile drivinghead which will uniformly distribute the force of the hammer blows tothe entire surface of the top of the pile, even though the hammer, headand pile are not in exact axial alignment.

Another specific object is to provide a pile driving head having noveland improved means for cushioning the shock of the hammer blows impartedthereto.

A further object is to provide a pile driving head having improvedcentering means for maintaining the head concentric with the pile duringthe driving operation.

A still further object is to provide improved shock absorbing, forcedistributing, cushioning, and centering means, all cooperating touniformly distribute the blows of the pile driving hammer to the entiretop surface of a tubular pile being driven into the ground.

These and other related objects are accomplished by the improvements,parts, combinations and arrangements comprisingthe present invention,which may be stated in general terms as including a pile driving headhaving an anvil block with a rounded upper surface, a cushion inabutment with said anvil block and including a plurality of steel plateswith shock absorbing plates interposed therebetween, a driving memberfor transmitting the blows from the cushioning means to the top of thepile, and means for maintaining said driving member substantiallyconcentric With the pile being driven.

Referring to the drawing forming part hereof, in which a preferredembodiment of the invention is shown by way of example:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of the improved driving headapplied to the top of a tubular pile of thin wall construction, andbeing used with one form of pile driving hammer;

Fig. 2 is a similar View, partly in vertical section;

Fig. 3 is a plan sectional View thereof, as on line 33, Fig, 2; and

Fig. 4 is a detached bottom plan View of the improved driving head.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views ofthe drawing.

The improved pile driving head is illustrated in conjunction with oneconventional type of pile driving hammer, but it will be understood thatthe improved pile driving head may be used equally well with otherwell-known types of hammers, without departing from the scope of theinvention defined in the appended claims, by substituting a head adaptermember having an outer contour suitable to the hammer used.

In the drawing the hammer base is indicated generally at 5 having thehammer B reciprocating therein, and the hammer base has spaced dependingportions 1 for fitting around the pile driving head, all in a usualmanner.

Preferably the depending portions 1 are provided with apertures 8through which cables or other connecting means may be inserted, fortying the depending portions together, as desired.

The improved pile driving head includes an annular head adapter memberindicated generally at 9 over which the depending portions 1 of thehammer base loosely slidably telescope for positioning the hammersubstantially directly over the driving head. The adapter memberpreferably includes an inner ring portion l9 and an outer ring portionll supported thereon by radial circumferentially spaced ribs [2, andsaid hammer base depending portions 1 fit slidably around the outer ringportion H.

The improved pile driving head preferably includes a bottom drivingmember or plate l3, the bottom surface of which rests upon the topsurface of the pile as shown. In the drawing the pile being driven isillustrated as a tubular fluted pile l4 having a thin wall i5, andpreferably having a reinforcing ring l6 secured as by welding to theoutside of the pile around the top thereof to prevent the top edge ofthe pile from being battered or spread radially outward during thedriving operation. Obviously, the invention can be applied to othertypes of piles including non-fluted piles and cylindric tubular piles.

Means for centering the bottom driving member l3, or for maintaining itsubstantially concentric with the pile during the driving operationpreferably includes a pilot or centering ring H made up of two halfrings abutting each other and having radially inwardly extending fiangesI 8 secured together by bolts [9. The centering ring [1 has an inwardlyextending annular fiange for engaging in an annular groove formed in thecentral depending portion 2! of the bottom driving member 13, so thatthe half rings of the centering member H can be detachably mounted withtheir annular flanges 29 engaged in the an nular groove of dependingportion 2! and afterwards bolted together by means of bolts I9.Preferably a rubber gasket 22 is inserted between the upper surface ofthe centering ring 5'! and the lower surface of the driving member :3,for a purpose to be described.

The bottom driving member is provided on its under side with a fiatannular bottom surface iSa surrounding the depending portion 25, for

engaging the top surface of the pile M, so that the force of the hammerblows transmitted to the bottom driving member will be evenlydistributed to the entire top surface of the pile.

Preferably, the bottom driving member is provided with diametricallyopposite pairs of ears 13b extending radially outwardly therefrom. Boltsare secured in the ears 13b, and the usual hanger cables fragmentarilyshown at 13d are secured to the bolts 130 by means of clevises l3e foruse in applying the pile driving head to or removing it from the top ofthe pile.

The base of the head adapter member 8 rests on the fiat upper annularsurface I31 of the bottom driving member l3 as shown, and the drivingmember l3 preferably has an upwardly projecting central cylindricportion 23 which fits into the cylindric bore 24 formed by the base ofthe inner ring I0 of the adapter member. Preferably the upper part ofthe inner ring portion 59 of the adapter member has an inner cylindricbore 25 of slightly larger diameter than the bore 24 forming a shoulder26 between the bores 24 and 25, and a steel knockout plate 21 fits inthe bore 25 and rests on the shoulder 26. The cylindric portion 23terminates substantially at the shoulder 25 so that the knockout plate21 abuts the top surface of said cylindric portion 23.

Means for cushioning the shocks of the blows of the hammer preferablyincludes a plurality of circular metal disks 28 fitting slidably in thebore 25 of the inner ring portion l9, between which disks 28 areinterposed cushioning disks 29 of fibre and the like. The number ofmetal disks 28 can be varied as desired, but preferably alternate disks28 and fibre disks 2Q are superimposed one upon another.

An anvil block 30 for receiving the blows of the hammer 6 is provided atthe upper portion of the improved pile driving head and has a lowercylindric portion adapted to fit slidably in the bore 25 and rest uponthe top disk 28 of the cushioning means. The top of the anvil block 30is concentrically crowned or convexly rounded as indicated at 3| and ispreferably enlarged radially as indicated at 32. By making the topsurface 3| of the anvil block rounded, the force of the hammer blows isdistributed substantally uniformly downward even though the anvil blockand the pile driving head which carries it are not in exact axialalignment with the hammer 6,

The metal disks 28 and fibre disks 29 constituting the cushioning meansnot only cushion the shock of the hammer blows but further distributethe force of the same and transmits the distributed force through theknockout plate 21 uniformly to the entire flat upper surface of theupwardly projecting portion 23 of the bottom driving member. The drivingmember serves to further uniformly distribute the shock and force of theblows and the bottom surface l3a, thereof transmits the shock and forceof the blows to the upper surface of the pile l4 in a straight downwarddirection, while the centering ring I! insures that the driving memberI3 is maintained substantially concentric with the pile.

Thus regardless of axial misalignment of the hammer, pile driving headand pile, or irregular bottom surface of the hammer due to wear, theforce of the hammer blows is uniformly distributed, cushioned andtransmitted substantially evenly to the entire top surface of the piledue to the cooperating effect of the anvil block, cushion and bottomdriving member; with the result that the pile is effectively driven inthe required downward direction without materially damaging the top endof the pile,

The rubber gasket 22 serves to cushion the reaction of the centeringring I! upwardly against the bottom surface l3a, which is caused by theinertia of the ring when the force of the hammer blows is transmittedthrough the bottom driving member vl3.

. The improved pile driving head is compact and .easily handled, isextremely durable, and is readily adapted for use with various types ofpile driving hammers.

I claim:

1. In pile driving head construction, an anvil block having a convexlyrounded upper surface, cushioning means for absorbing sh'ocks from saidanvil block, a bottom driving member for receiving and distributing theforce of hammer blows from said cushioning means and having a bottompile engaging surface for engaging the top of a tubular pile, pilotmeans detachably mounted on said bottom driving member for maintainingit concentric with said pile, and a yieldable gasket interposed betweensaid pilot means and the bottom surface of said bottom driving member.

2. Pile driving head construction including an anvil block having aconvexly rounded upper surface, cushioning means for absorbing shocksfrom said anvil block, a bottom driving member for receiving anddistributing the force of hammer blows from said cushioning means andhaving a bottom pile engaging surface for engaging the top of a tubularpile, means for maintaining said anvil block, cushioning means andbottom driving member in axial alignment, pilot means detachably mountedon said bottom driving memher for maintaining it concentric with saidpile, and a yieldable gasket interposed between said pilot means and thebottom surface of said bottom driving member.

EDMUND W. RIEMENSCHN'EIDER.

